Tom Vilsack warns Congress on farm bill

In some of his strongest language to date, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack warned Congress Thursday that it must pick up the pace of farm bill talks and can’t expect a fallback to prevent milk prices from spiking after New Year’s when the current dairy provisions expire.

Vilsack said it was “unlikely” there could be an extension of the current 2008 farm law, and House and Senate negotiators need to be meeting “24/7 until they get a resolution.”

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Absent some agreement, dairy policy reverts to a 1949 law that prescribes a post-World War II vision of a more muscular government buying up dairy products directly to boost prices. The Agriculture Department would pay producers $38.54 per hundredweight compared to a market now running near $16.22. The result could be havoc — many estimate a doubling in consumer prices for milk.

“I will do what the law requires me to do,” Vilsack said at a brief press conference with reporters following a meeting on drought relief. “It’s fair to say milk prices will increase, and that’s an unfortunate circumstance … Consumers shouldn’t have to have higher milk costs because Congress can’t get its work done. This can be worked out. There has to be a little give, there has to be a little take … It’s just obviously going at a pace that needs to pick up.”

Vilsack stopped short of saying he would call the two sides together again as he did on Nov. 29, when he hosted a meeting of the top four members of the House and Senate Agriculture Committees.

That session did help to break the ice, sparking follow-up talks and early optimism that an agreement could be reached soon on the commodity title. Negotiations have since bogged down, but the administration seems reluctant to take a more hands-on approach.

“I can’t force people to meet,” Vilsack said. “I can encourage them to meet … We are encouraging them, facilitating discussions and making sure they fully understand the repercussions of inaction.”

“I think with a lot of hard work and give and take, they are going to get there,” the secretary said.

But back in the Capitol Thursday, the sniping continued.

The Senate Agriculture Committee has been more aggressive, belittling the House’s bargaining position since the Republican leadership never allowed the House farm bill to come to the floor this year. But the end result has only been to harden the lines. And it’s almost as if the farm negotiators want to stage their own milk crisis to rival the “fiscal cliff” talks that have consumed Washington.

After members of the Senate panel met Thursday and then spoke to reporters, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-Okla.) and Minnesota Rep. Collin Peterson, the panel’s ranking Democrat, fired back this joint statement:

“When the Senate Ag Committee starts to negotiate in good faith with their House counterparts rather than through the press, we stand ready to work with them,” the lawmakers said. “Contrary to what they would have you believe, this is not a rice, peanut and wheat issue. Rather, it’s about making sure policy is defensible to taxpayers and works for all commodities in all regions of the country.

“Having made a reasonable offer, we continue to wait for a balanced offer from the Senate so we can sort out the details.”

The simple problem with the Farm BIll is the same as this summer and that's RepubliCons want to keep the direct cash payments and the Senate Bill by Dems wants crop insurance. The Repubs want cash subsidies regardless of conditions and the Dems say you only get paid if something goes wrong witth the crop. The Dems have the right approach and it saves billions of dollars

Why are taxpayers subsidizing Big Ag at such a massive cost? We cannot afford this farm bill and get rid of that 1949 bill. Only government would have a 1949 contract still in place. The fact that bill exists shows how inept and corrupt our government is.